Friday, September 20, 2013

Two top GOP leaders quit immigration group, blame Obama

Two leading Republicans have dramatically quit the House’s “Gang of Seven” immigration panel, likely dealing a crippling blow to President Barack Obama’s top-priority effort to push through an immigration rewrite.

The two legislators blamed Obama’s practice of not enforcing laws, including immigration enforcement laws.

“We have reached a tipping point and can no longer continue working on a broad approach to immigration,” said a statement from the two Texas Republicans, John Carter and Sam Johnson, who were working with four Democratic legislators to craft a bill to increase immigration.

“Instead of doing what’s right for America, President Obama time and again has unilaterally disregarded the U.S. Constitution, the letter of the law and bypassed the Congress — the body most representative of the people — in order to advance his political agenda,” they wrote.

“We will not tolerate it. Laws passed by Congress are not merely suggestions, regardless of the current atmosphere. … Laws are to be respected and followed by all — particularly by the Commander-in-Chief,” said the statement.

Obama’s deputies have said one of his top legislative priorities is passage of a bill to double immigration.

The sharp criticism of Obama suggests that House Speaker John Boehner does not intend to schedule a House vote on the Senate’s immigration bill. Without a House vote, the Senate’s July immigration bill will not become law.

If approved, the Senate bill would triple immigration to allow the arrival of 33 million immigrants over 10 years. The bill is backed by progressives and business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce.